I remember reading it somewhere else on here but I can't find it now. I am on my first brew so I apologize if this has been addressed. I am 72 hours into primary fermentation and have kept it at approximately 64 degrees. Is it wise to raise the fermentation temperature at this point to closer to 70?

I know that Jamil Zainasheff recommends this when I listen to his podcasts, but I don't always do that. It really depends on several things- the optimum fermentation temperature of the yeast, the length of time in the primary, the yeast health, projected Fg, etc.

I guess my answer would be that it would be ok to do if you wanted to clean up any diacetyl off-flavors or if you wanted to coax a few gravity points out of the yeast. If you're already at Fg, and the beer is pretty clear, then I don't see the point.

__________________Broken Leg BreweryGiving beer a leg to stand on since 2006

Raising ferment temps(or ramping) is mostly for Belgians. Most ales do well at 65-70 depending on yeast strain. I have fermented many ales at your temp. it just takes a little longer which usually equates to a cleaner beer. You will make beer at that temp and you will like it, it just may take a week or so longer. Over time you will learn not to hurry Mother Nature but to coax her into your time line. RDWHAHB

So I will keep it in the mid 60's until it is complete. That leads to my next question. When should I take my first hydrometer reading. I believe I read somewhere not to touch it until at least two weeks. Is it smart to follow that rule of thumb?

My personal rule is to leave it until three weeks unless its a high grav belgian. Give the yeast time to clean up their mess and and you get a better beer. If its under 1.050 OG then you can check after two weeks but its still better after three. Give your yeast a chance and you wont be disapointed.

Ok, anyway- there is a bit of science and logic behind doing this. I know that I've heard it before, too.

However, sometimes it's not that easy to do as the temperature of the beer inside the fermenter starts to drop after fermentation slows. I haven't seen any negative effects from not doing it, but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't help in some cases.

I think more importantly, for us brewers who don't have dedicated temperature controlled spaces, is to maintain proper fermentation temperatures during the fermentation period. In my mind, that's more important than allowing fluctuations at the beginning, or going too hot at the end.

__________________Broken Leg BreweryGiving beer a leg to stand on since 2006

Oh Yoop, I always knew you dreamed about me. BTW where is that 20,000 post.
Ramping can be difficult without temp control, but somehow I think OP is talking American/English ale, just a WAG. With such, ramping would not be beneficial. It might speed up fermentation but at the cost of flavor. As a noob I'm sure OP will take the same route most of us did and learn more on later batches. If not OP will let it sit and reap the rewards.

You'll find that it is helpful in pretty much every fermentation, even American and English. Heck, especially with those strains and the purpose is to improve beer flavor. All your esters and fusels and other compounds are already there by the time you start ramping the temp. You're not going to be creating more of them. Instead, ramping the temp at the end is going to keep the yeast active and it will help them reduce compounds like acetaldehyde, diacetyl, and the precursor for diacetyl.

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I hope my post helped in some small way. If you need to contact me, please use email since it sometimes takes me several days to get back to the forum.